Glen Fisher came up with the best analogy of the SSSCA/CBDTPA I’ve seen, posted on Applelinks
Something occurred to me today that I haven’t seen mention of yet: the US has been through the whole SSSCA/CBDTPA issue before. The first time, however, it was called “Prohibition”. For that’s what the bill is attempting to do: prohibit an act that the great majority of the American public wants to be able to do. The first time, the Great Experiment failed, and, back then, it was at least prompted by noble–if naive–motives. This time around, it’s prompted by nothing more than corporate greed. If it didn’t work when it was grounded in real morality, why expect it to work now when it’s prompted merely by base greed masquerading as morality (and a masquerade that few are fooled by). Yes, it will make the activity illegal, but the historical lesson is that people will simply turn to illegal means to get what they want. And the government will be seen as even more a farce than it is already, deserving of even less respect than it has now. Truly, “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana).